Conventional body supports can be found in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, and are often adapted for supporting one or more body parts of a user. As used herein, the term “body support” includes without limitation any deformable element adapted to support one or more parts or all of a human or animal in any position. Examples of body supports include mattresses, pillows, and cushions of any type, including those for use in beds, seats, and in other applications.
Many body supports are constructed entirely or partially out of foam material. For example, polyurethane foam is commonly used in many mattresses, pillows, and cushions, and can be used alone or in combination with other types of cushion materials. In many body supports, visco-elastic material is used, providing the body support with an increased ability to conform to a user and to thereby distribute the weight or other load of the user. Some visco-elastic body support materials are also temperature sensitive, thereby also enabling the body support to change shape based in part upon the temperature of the supported body part.
Although the number and types of body supports constructed with one or more visco-elastic materials continue to increase, the capabilities of such materials are often underutilized. In many cases, this underutilization is due to poor body support design and/or the choice of material(s) used in the body support.
Based at least in part upon the limitations of existing body supports and the high consumer demand for improved body supports in a wide variety of applications, new body supports are welcome additions to the art.